The Next Doogie Howser

Whiz Kids

By Mike Dang

03/04/2015

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Kids don’t usually start thinking about college until after they’ve hit puberty. But whiz kid Moshe Kai Cavalin was already cramming for finals when he was eight, the age when most of us had just mastered cursive writing and coloring inside the lines. Now a 10-year-old sophomore at East Los Angeles College, the AP reports that Cavalin is hoping to transfer to a prestigious 4-year college next year and study astrophysics. His primary interest? Wormholes, a hypothetical scientific phenomenon connected to Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. Check out our list of past prodigies giving college students a run for their money after the jump.

Who: Greg SmithWhat he did: Smith enrolled at Randolph-Macon College when he was 10 and he achieved his bachelors at 13 with a major in mathematics and a minor in history and biology.Where he is now: Smith is studying for four doctorates in math, aerospace engineering, international relations and biomedical research. He has been nominated four times for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work promoting non-violence.

Who: Alia SaburWhat she did: Sabur went from 4th grade to college, earning a B.S. in Applied Mathematics summa cum laude from Stony Brook University at age 14, the youngest female in American history.Where she is now: After earning and M.S. and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Drexel University, the “Guinness Book of World Records” formally announced that Sabur is the youngest person to become a full-time professor. This past February, the then 18-year-old was hired as faculty in the Department of Advanced Technology Fusion at Konkuk University in South Korea.

Who: Sho YanoWhat he did: When he was 12, Yano enrolled in medical school at the University of Chicago — after graduating from Loyola University in three years, summa cum laude.Where he is now: Still in med school. His favorite way to relax is playing the keyboard.

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